A gas turbine engine typically includes a fan section, a compressor section, a combustor section and a turbine section. Air entering the compressor section is typically compressed and delivered into the combustion section where it is mixed with fuel and ignited to generate a high-speed exhaust gas flow. The high-speed exhaust gas flow typically expands through the turbine section to drive the compressor and the fan section.
A speed reduction device, such as an epicyclical gear assembly, may be utilized to drive the fan section such that the fan section rotates at a speed different than the turbine section so as to increase the overall propulsive efficiency of the engine. In such engine architectures, a shaft driven by one of the turbine sections provides an input to the epicyclical gear assembly that drives the fan section at a reduced speed such that both the turbine section and the fan section can rotate at closer to optimal speeds.
The fan section includes a plurality of fan blades mounted to a hub supported by bearings for rotation about the engine axis. The hub is coupled to an output of the geared architecture. The bearings require lubricant that is supplied through lubricant passages. The geared architecture also requires lubricant. The structures required for communicating lubricant to the bearings and geared architecture can complicate assembly and require additional space.
Although geared architectures have improved propulsive efficiency, turbine engine manufacturers continue to seek further improvements to engine performance including improvements to thermal, transfer and propulsive efficiencies.